Conserve and Preserve Materials of the Genealogy Collection

FAIN: PG-50240-08

Old Lyme Library (Old Lyme, CT 06371-2302)
Richard Conroy (Project Director: May 2007 to January 2008)
Jill Adams (Project Director: January 2008 to September 2009)

A general preservation survey of library and archival materials and training for staff in the care and handling of collections, which consist of family histories, genealogies, and church and cemetery records documenting the history of Connecticut and New England.

The Old Lyme Library is seeking this grant in order to begin the process of preserving the materials in its Genealogy Collection. Most of the grant would go toward having a preservation assessment needs survey conducted by the Northeast Document Conservation Center. This survey is a necessary first step in this project in order to determine what action needs to be taken to preserve the materials in question. The collection consists mainly of approximately 1,500 volumes of printed materials as well as old photographs, postcards and maps, and it is heavily used by patrons who visit from all over the United States who are in search of family history materials. It is also used by people who are researching local history. The NEDCC would also conduct an onsite workshop for staff members on the proper care and handling of the items in the collection.